Han Solo, Princess Leia and Chewbacca - hanging out, now in full colour!!

Hey guys!

So I decided to do a colour experiment with this drawing I did of Han, Leia and Chewie. I'm into this look. I don't know what it is, but it appeals to me! More Star Wars and more experimentation I say!

If you are interested in owning the original art, there are 3 hours left to grab it from here:

eBay AUCTION

Thanks for looking!

J.

TMNT ALS Ice Bucket Challenge

Hey guys!

Just wanted to give you guys a little heads up about this piece of art. I am currently selling it on eBay, and I will be donating whatever it goes for to the ALSA. You can find the auction here if you would like to bid on this piece of art:

eBay AUCTION

Back Story:

I was nominated by a fellow comic book artist, Khary Randolph to take on the ALS Ice Bucket Challnge, but with one important twist... Instead of pouring a bucket of ice water over my head, I had to draw some characters doing the challenge. Of course I picked a couple of Ninja Turtles for the task and added a little chibi twist to it. I thought this would be a great way to help the cause by helping raise awareness through these great characters, and also by donating the funds I get on the piece straight to the ALSA.

I hope the art finds a good home with a real turtles fan.

Please feel free to share this post with anyone you know who might like to buy the art work so I can raise as much as possible for this cause. I have seen what this terrible desease can do to people (not personally, but through some very touching videos online) and I think it is great that they are getting their moment to shine in the spotlight. Hopefully through all of the shennanigans we have made a difference to some of these peoples lives!

OK....Soapbox story over!

More art posts and news coming soon!

J.

Wolverine VS The Sentinel Head

copic marker and ink on 9x12 bristol board

Hello? Testing, testing.... It's dusty around here...time to clean off the cobwebs and make some regular updates. Anyone reading this?

Well, I'm still making my way through all of these Ozmosis commissions, so if you are still waiting, here is proof that yours is coming soon! There are not too many left...maybe 15 or so and then I might open up for new commissions. Maybe.

Anyway, this one was cool... I was asked to draw Wolverine, which is always fun. I added the big Sentinel head in the background to create a little more of a story for the piece and to give me something which I could use to help Logan pop off the page even more.

traditional pencil with digital pencil

For you guys who like to see some of the steps and progress behind the scenes...well, you know thats what this blog is for... so here you go. I apologise for the watermarks, but people have been stealing my shit and trying to sell it, so I gotta do what I gotta do. Those scallywags!

So, this is kind of where my process is at these days. I like to start with my pencil and sketchbook as I have always done. Once I have something that I'm feeling pretty good about I will usually scan it and then clean it up and mess around with it a little digitally. In this case you can see below that I actually drew the sentinel head completely digitally because it was an idea I had when I was sitting in front of my computer I suppose, so that's just how it worked out.

Find my on Instagram. User name: sommariva

 Above you can see a progress shot I took once I had done most of the line work on Wolverine. In the scan below you can see that line work with the undersketch removed, but this was the same step here.

inks done with a brush pen

Thanks for reading, and hopefully I will see you guys back here very soon!

cheers,
Jon.

LOBO vs ATROCITUS :: Oz Comic Con

Hey Ninjas!

Well....It has been a while since the last update. I have been quite busy finishing off Rexodus and working on a bunch of stuff, but now Rex is in the can and waiting to be published which is good! I can't wait for you guys to see it.

For the past two weekends I had the pleasure of being a guest of Oz Comic Con in Perth and then Adelaide. Wow! What an amazing time. I met a lot of people and it is so great to see so many people interested in what we (comic book artists) do for a living. Very exciting. Over the 10 days I was there chilling and working with my buddy David Yardin we produced a lot of art from head sketches to full size pieces. It was good times indeed!

So, I'm hoping to get a chance to show some of the actual scans here for you guys to check out. If you already follow me on INSTAGRAM you may have seen a bunch of art, but at the end of the day there is nothing quite like seeing a nice clean scan....and further to that, there is nothing quite like seeing the original art in person! At least, that's what I think.

Here is one of the pieces that came about thanks to this tour. I was asked to draw LOBO vs Atrocitus. Now, I LOVE drawing Lobo... This was actually the 2nd time I have done a commission of him, but I had never heard of Atrocitus before. All I really know about him is that he is a Red Lantern and he spews blood. He's a big dude, so I am picturing him going for a WWF body slam here, but Lobo is obviously very ready with his blades.

Had fun working on this one... More to come soon!

Cheers,
Jon.

PS: My latest art book, Ozmosis Chills III is officially SOLD OUT now, but never fear, there will be another coming soon as well as a collected volume of numbers 1 and 2...More on that later.

Chibi Female Shepard :: Mass Effect 3

Hey guys!

Just a quick update here.

As I am sure you are aware, I am working on art for those people who pre-ordered a copy of my art book, Ozmosis Chills 3. There are till 12 days left for you to order my book.

Let's talk about art... So this is the first Chibi I have worked on for the chibi category. I was asked to draw Female Sheppard from Mass Effect 3. I have attached here, just for you blog checkers all the steps from pencils to inks (original art) to the finished colours.

Hope you like!

Jon.

PENCILS:



INKS:

OC3 update :: Thor, TMNT and Indiegogo VS kickstarter

Hi!

Just wanted to post up a little update on the progress of my art book, Ozmosis Chills 3.

It has been a week since I launched the book campaign on indiegogo. As of writing this I just made my goal of $3500, so I guess that is not bad! It is going pretty much as I had hoped so far. With a little luck and hopefully more people interested in my book and my art, I will be able to get together slightly more than my target amount, and create an even better finished product. For anyone wanting to see the campaign, please follow this link here: CLICK and feel free to share it with anyone you think might be interested.

I have begun work on the perks for the campaign, so people who have paid for art are starting to see what they will get. I will post a couple of them here for you all to check out.

CLICK THE IMAGE TO MAKE THEM BIGGER:

I would like to also point out what I have left up for grabs as far as art goes. If you want a commission from me, now is the time!:

Head sketch bundle: 17 of 20 left

Chibi bundle: 1 of 10 left

9x12 inked and toned commission: 1 of 5 left

Bigger commissions are also available. I will try and update the numbers here as I can, but your best bet is to check out the actual site.

Indiegogo VS Kickstarter

A question that has popped up a couple of times is "why did you go with indiegogo rather than kickstarter?" It's a really good question, because the logical choice for anyone looking to crowd-fund a creative project is kickstarter. They have the brand, and they have the traffic numbers to back it up (ranked 800). The number one reason why I went with Indiegogo (ranked 5000), was simply because I live and work from Australia, and Kickstarter does not allow people from outside the US to set up campaigns. The next best choice is Indiegogo, and I must say it is not a bad alternative.

I found out that kickstarter is trying to open up to the rest of the world, but so far no luck. I guess they havn't figured it out yet. So, the next best option for us non-US creative types is Indiegogo. You will find mostly comic projects on there from Canada, Australia and the UK, and I'm sure from many other countries. As far as traffic goes, kickstarter wins, but indiegogo is a close second, so I don't feel that I am at too much of a disadvantage. The thing I have learnt with crowd-funding so far is that you will get most of your traffic through your own hard work and letting others know about your project, and then word-of-mouth, so whether I am posting a link to kickstarter or indiegogo, it's all the same. If people are interested, they will click that link, and if they like what they see, they will pay for it. I really do have to say a big thank you to everyone who has been facebooking and tweeting about my project. You guys have been a massive help!

One advantage that I think IGG has over KS is the flexible funding. With IGG you can set it up so that no matter how many contributions you get, you will still get the funding. With KS, if you don't make your goal you get nothing. I think the flexible funding is great for people doing comic and print projects. Particularly those where all the work is already done. Essentially what we have is a pre-order system, which allows you to guage exactly how many copies of a book you should get printed. I would advise that it is wise to set your goal at the minimum amount you can work with, and then see what happens. With IGG, if you don't reach your goal, you will be charged a higher fee (9%) than if you do make your goal (only 4%). I believe KS takes 5% from successful projects. With flexible funding, any contibutions made can be considered sales. Just make sure you can do a very small print run as a back up plan.

So that's the long version of why I went with Indiegogo. Don't hate it just cause it's not as popular! There are some cool projects from all around the globe on there, so don't be shy. Both KS and IGG work much the same, and both sites will give you results.

Hopefully this info will be usefull to someone out there, in a similar boat to me, and if not, at least you get a little bit of pretty art to look at!.

Now go buy a copy of my book, yeah? :) cheers!

Jon.

Jon Sommariva Art Book :: Ozmosis Chills III

After months of planning, I am happy to announce that my latest art book, Ozmosis Chills III is finally ready for ordering!

I have a campaign running on Indiegogo (Just like Kickstarter!) which will run for 30 days from today. To claim your copy, you will need to click on the following link. There you will find many options to get your copy of the art book. CLICK THIS.

This book is by far the biggest and best book I have made to date. I am really happy with how it is looking, and I can't wait to show you guys!

Anyone who has wanted commissions from me should also click the link, as there are many options for getting original sketches from me for this campaign.

Here is the link, now go get some Ozmosis Chills! PS: Don't be shy to let any friends know about this too. The more the merrier, and it will all help me be able to keep making new art and sharing it!

Ozmosis Chills III.

Many thanks, Jon.

Venom, Little Gladiator and a bunch of Instagram sketches

Hey guys!
Wow... Long time between blog updates!

I'm gonna keep this one short and sweet for now, but it will be heavy on the art :)

So, I have been using Instagram to snap some sketch book stuff, and here are some of my favourites from the past couple of months. (user name is: sommariva)

Heads up: I will be revealing some info very soon for you guys who would like to pre-order and ensure that you get a copy of my art book OZMOSIS CHILLS 3. It is on it's way!

OK... More art soon!
Jon.

This was a con sketch I did recently at Oz Comic Con in Adelaide. Venom finally gets to eat Spidey... Sorry Spidey.


This is a character I created and designed for fun. He might come back again in the future if you guys like him.


This was just an olden day photo head study. Drawing moustaches is fun!


WW2 soldier. Again, just for fun. I thought the paper and markers I was using would suit WW2 pretty well.

Hope you like! Thanks for looking.

Black Ladies and SupaNova Sydney

Hello friends and finders of this secret little art stash! I am well overdue for an update, so along with some recent art, here are also some ramblings...

First the art. These pieces are from a set of 11 that I have done for a bunch of people who pre-ordered sketch pieces from me in time for SupaNova in Sydney. I've had a great time working on these. All pieces are done on 9 x 12 bristol board using pencil, ink, copics and artlines.

In total there are 11 in this set. I'm hoping to add more to that in the near future. Stay tuned!

I thought it would be cool to start with the ladies with Black in their name:
Black Cat, Black Canary and Black Widow!



Also, cause I love all my ninja follwers on the blog, I'm gonna share some snaps I took of my rough pencil work for those who like to see a little bit of my unpolished mess.


Slight brag: I'm going to watch Kung-Fu Panda 2 today. I'm so excited! This is one of those films where I can't help but be very hyped up for it, which can be a set up for either a HUGE dissapointment, or massive satisfaction. We'll see! Apparently Jack Black is gonna be there.

SupaNova Sydney: It is ON like Donkey Kong...Next weekend. Super excited to do my first Sydney con as a local. I will have limited prints and comics for sale, and I will also be doing head sketches. If you want one of these I recommend getting in early as my list does fill up. I am also thinking of taking a list of commissions which will be just like the ones from this post, so if your interested, let me know. We can dance!

Thanks for reading! As always, more art is on the way!




Peace!
Jon.

Commissions :: Rogue and X-23 + THOR thoughts.

Hi guys!

Hope everyone is enjoying the Easter break!

Have you seen Thor yet?! I did, and I loved it. I don't want to spoil anything. All I want to say is that Marvel have made a fantastic film and got me very interested in a character who I had no interest in at all before. Go see it! Oh, and while I'm at it, can we please at least be given the option to see this movie in 2D?! I find 3D so pointless. It adds nothing but gimmick cheese to the film. The film has a solid story and great characters, and the setting is beautifully done. These qualities are present weather the film is in 2D or 3D. Again I say, it adds nothing! What do you guys think?

OK...let's talk about art. I worked on a couple of outstanding commissions this week, and I'm getting into a good fun groove with these. The choices were great of course. Who doesn't love Rogue or X-23? I'm loving working with markers and inks and getting my hands dirty. It makes me feel like an artist :)


The business table - (Don't read this unless you like to buy and own original art): These pieces are already spoken for, but if you want a commish done to match this set or if you would like to pre-order one for supanova Sydney, get in touch. $100 each. I will have limited spots available as time allows, but for now I am OPEN FOR COMMISSIONS. Alternatively you can get an inked and toned head sketch like the ones I posted earlier for $50.

Thanks for looking guys!

Jon.

Batgirls :: raw pencils - finished colours

Hello!

Some of you may have already seen this floating about on deviantart, or perhaps in person at supanova. Well, now it is also here on my blog. The good news is that here you get to look at my original pencils also.

One of the first DC books I ever got into was Batgirl. A big part of the reason was the gorgeous Damion Scott artwork, but also that Cassie design which is just so slick and cool to look at and draw. The book stood out among all the other titles, and it had more than enough storywise to keep me hooked.

I would love to draw a Batgirl book like this some day. I think she is a very cool character, and such a fun addition to the Bat family. I'm definately hoping to draw her some more in any case.

For anyone interested in buying the original pencils, I'm sorry to say that the original is now SOLD! to a handsome buyer I met in Melbourne. I miss them already, but I know the piece is in a good place :)

Pencils: Me
Inks: Sean Parsons
Colour: Aron Lusen
It's always a great pleasure working with these guys!

Jon.

Supanova: My sketches

Hey guys!

Well, it has been a crazy past 3 weeks. I spent a week in Bali, and then a week in Brisbane followed by a week in Melbourne! I've had a blast catching up with old friends and making lots of new ones too.

The Supanova conventions in Australia just keep getting better and better. I'm now looking forward to Supanova in Sydney, and hopefully a con over in the states. I'd love to make it over later this year, but we'll see what happens.

So, without further ado, here are some of my pics from the convention, along with a selection of the con sketches I did. Hope you like, and keep your eyes peeled for more new art on Mondays!

Jon.

Red Monika

OK, so technically it is not Monday where I am, but it might just be where you are. The point is, it is the beggining of the week, and here is some art which you have not seen, AKA new art!

So here is a Red Monika sketch I did for someone who bought my book. I loved Battle chasers...Man...what an Epic book that was. I do hope Joe Mad gives us some more someday. As for me, I would love to draw some more BC stuff, cause it is so much fun to draw! I have a bunch of head sketches I did somewhere of Gully and Garrison. Maybe I'll twitpic them one of these days...

By the way, if anyone wants to have a go at colouring these lines, let me know if there is interest in the comments section and I'll put up a link for some hi res inks for you guys, otherwise you have my coloured version and so it shall remain for all time...


EDIT: Grab the hi-res inks from HERE.
Hope you like!

J.

Darkstalkers :: Dimitri & Morrigan